Police: Off-duty cop apprehends knife-wielding teenager in Woodbury, Minn.

It took an off-duty Wisconsin state trooper to apprehend a Twin Cities teenager who stormed out of the Woodbury Walmart with a stolen television, then swiped a knife at a store employee attempting to stop her.

Those are the allegations spelled out by Washington County prosecutors in a juvenile petition filed against 17-year-old Elizabeth Thurber of Burnsville.

She faces one count of second-degree felony assault, one count of misdemeanor theft and one count of fifth-degree assault, a misdemeanor. She pleaded not guilty to the charges Oct. 28.

According to the petition, Thurber rushed a shopping cart loaded with the TV past a store greeter who ordered her to stop. She continued on through the doors as alarms sounded.

A Walmart loss prevention officer gave chase and caught up with Thurber as she ran toward Hudson Road with the cart.

“At that point, Thurber reached into her purse and grabbed a knife and swiped it at (the loss prevention officer),” the petition states.

The loss prevention officer went to the ground after the knife incident. He told police the blade came as close as four inches from him and left him scared.

That’s when Wisconsin State Patrol trooper Damien Kosmosky came into the picture. He told Woodbury police he had watched the scene unfold and intended to remain uninvolved unless someone appeared to be injured.

When he saw the employee go the ground, Kosmosky ran to the scene and chased down Thurber. He said he identified himself as a police officer and talked with her. The petition states Thurber smacked his hand twice after he grabbed the shopping cart. She also allegedly rammed him with the cart, prompting Kosmosky to take her to the ground.

Woodbury police arrived shortly after and took Thurber into custody.

The case is set for a Nov. 17 court trial.

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